SIR row: BGPM warns of protests if Gorkhas excluded from voter list

Darjeeling: Protests against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process are now poised to reach the Hills of North Bengal. The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM)—the ruling party in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)—has announced it will take to the streets if the revision exercise results in exclusion of names of Gorkhas from the voter list.

The Election Commission of India, on June 24, notified the commencement of SIR—an exhaustive door-to-door verification of Bihar’s electoral rolls. As part of the process, all voters are required to fill out and submit enumeration forms by July 25.

Those not listed in the 2003 electoral roll are required to submit one of 11 prescribed documents. Initially, widely held documents like Aadhaar, EPIC, and ration cards were excluded, prompting a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.

After a meeting of the party’s Central Working Committee in Darjeeling on Thursday, BGPM spokesperson SP Sharma alleged political misuse of the process. “Valid names are being struck off from the voter list in Bihar. The BJP is misusing the Election Commission’s machinery to carry out a voter purification drive under the pretext of SIR,” Sharma told the media.

Referring to incidents in other states where Bengali-speaking individuals were labelled as Bangladeshi nationals, Sharma cautioned that such practices could extend to West Bengal, depending on the Supreme Court’s verdict on July 28, which will determine the legality and scope of SIR

implementation. In preparation, the IGDF has announced awareness campaigns in the Hills to inform citizens about the 11 necessary documents required under the SIR guidelines.

However, BGPM leaders have expressed concern over the disproportionate impact this could have on marginalised communities, particularly the Gorkhas. Drawing parallels with the NRC (National Register of Citizens) process in Assam, Sharma highlighted that lakhs of Gorkhas were excluded from the final NRC list due to lack of documentation. “Many hill residents, including the economically backward, small traders, and certain ethnic groups, do not possess sufficient educational or official papers,” he said.

The party issued a strong statement: “What will be the fate of Indian Gorkhas, who have time and again been labelled as foreigners, when the SIR process is introduced?”